What a match! Punjab Super Kings emerges victorious again

Punjab Kings went against Chennai Super Kings in Match 38 of the Indian Premier League 2022 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Shikhar Dhawan slammed 88 not out as PBKS scored a total of 187/4 against CSK. 

The match started with Chennai winning the toss and opting to bowl. Captain Jadeja was unsure of the dew risk and thus wanted to be on the safe side. Shikhar Dhawan became the only second cricketer after Virat Kohli to score 6000 runs in IPL. In the meantime, Santer bowled to Dhawan who went hard and scuffed his shot off the inner edge which rolled through square leg and battered cross. Punjab stood at 15/0 after 3 overs. Mayank Agarwal made good use of the crease and made a hit for the boundary and PBKS jumped to 29/0 after just 5 overs. The powerplay ‘s last over saw Dhawan slam a 6 in the second ball. Although PBKS batters are trying their best to hit, CSK had also put up their defence. Mayank gets caught by Dube. Jadeja had bowled the 7th over, Ruturaj made a drop while Dhawan survived and the score went up to 43/1.

The 8th over was bowled by Pretorious while PBKS batters tried their best to fight the shackles. Dawan hits a good shot and brings up 50 runs for Punjab Super Kings. Mukesh Choudhary had started the 12th over with a good ball followed by which Dhawab had taken charge and covered a four, followed by an effortless boundary. Dawan showed good form as the team reached 94/1 by 12 overs. Bowled by Pretorius, Rajapasa swept for a single while Dhawan striked and the former hit a big six and Dhawan hit a four and brought his score up to 50. Choudhary bowled the 17th over and Dhawan made a quality shot, and just like that the 100 partnership was up for the two. The following balls went for sixes and Dhawan had finished the over with a four, putting PBKS at 174/2 after 19 overs. Dawan played like he was chasing a 100 and he had three deliveries left in the last over, ended up in run-out to end and PBKS ended their batting with 187/4 after 20 overs. 

CSK started off fairly well as they scored 10 off the 1st over. Dot balls created pressure and Sandeep Sharma had provided PBKS with a strong start. The ball was short of a length and Uthappa tried to pick up and whip it but the ball stuck slightly on to the surface, allowing Rishi Dhawan to take an easy catch. Arshdeep Singh was rather poor with his fielding but Jitesh Sharma backed him up good. Gaikwad tried to work it away but the ball had come off the thigh pad and went towards the short fine leg. CSK stood at 18/1 after 4 overs and they proceeded to lose their second wicket inside the Powerplay. Mitchel Santner walked too much across the stump in an attempt to flick but failed thoroughly. Ambati Rayudu proceeded to attack Liam Livingstone and he hit him for a four., followed by a six. The team reached 81/3 after 11 overs. Forwarding to the 18th over, Rabada was set to bowl while Jadeja swept him away with a four.

After 150 was up for Chennai, Rayudu looked all knackered while Rabada beat him. 

Jadeja stayed on strike in the 19th over, he took a single to give the strike to Dhoni, Arshdeep Singh was up against one of the greatest finishers in the game. Mayank displayed excellent fielding as he stopped a sure boundary. Dhoni kept striking till the end as a single ended the over. CSK scored 161/5 after 19 overs. In a nail biting last over, Dhoni hits but only for it to go back to the bowler’s hands and with that, Dhoni departs, Rishi Dhawan has surely done the trick. Last three bowls were left with Pretorious on strike. Jadeja had gone downtown for a 6 in the 5th ball and Punjab won by 11 runs. 

Punjab Kings won the match with an impressive 187/4 while CSK lingered around with 176/6.

The match was intense and like a tug of war, the teams performed well and we hope to see them more!